Chapter 7

Diego was in the cave. For the umpteenth time, he was rereading the letter Zafira had written. She had been wise enough to write it in French, a language few in these parts could master.

Dear Diego,
My thanks for your help. Without you, we would never have managed to escape. You don't feel guilty about it. You have done all you could. Joaquin's wound started to inflame. He knew there was nothing to save him. Joaquin wanted us to take his body to the authorities in order to claim the reward money to continue our fight.

In retrospect, I think the way things turned out between us was better. It was God's will that you and I could not be together. I truly had feelings of affection for Joaquin.
There is only one thing I regret. He and I never got blessed with a child. Christo and I are going to head for the States. There we will wait for when the time is right to take action. California will get freed of the tyranny of Spain.

All the best. Zafira.

The contents of this letter, the conversation with his father, and his new fear continued to keep him from sleeping. And since three days ago, little Dimitri had added another thought.
On the way back, the young boy chatted cheerfully about his siblings throughout their journey. He had told how his eldest sister worked in San Bernardino and regularly sent some money, which made the family's finances a little more spacious. About the youngest Lopez scion, who had turned six months old last week and had discovered that the world got a lot bigger when you could crawl and now had to be kept an eye on all the time.
The anecdotes had rekindled a flame in his soul that had been burning unnoticeably for years.

Despite what his father believed he was not the only de la Vega with future dreams of family life.
And Diego knew all too well how Victoria longed for a family. The expression on her face when one of her friends came to the tavern with a baby haunted him in his nightmares. Whenever a baby was born somewhere in the pueblo, Victoria was the first to visit mother and child with a basket filled with food to regain her strength. The tavern owner got praised by everyone for her kindness and generous heart.

Only a few realized that there was a void in her life that could only get filled when she had a baby of her own to hold in her arms.
He had seen how her radiant smile cramped. How she swallowed away tears, and her beautiful eyes hid her sadness. Everything he did was to protect and spare her pain. And yet he hurt her almost every day.
And oh, how he would love to see Victoria smiling down at their child in her arms with a glance full of love.
The longing for a future grew stronger as the pain became more unbearable.

He had sacrificed his hopes and dreams for good reasons. There could not be justice in Los Angeles without some sacrifices. As long as Victoria did not know his identity, he had no right to ask her to do the same.

Diego wanted nothing more than to tell his secret. Yet at the same time, he was afraid.
Afraid of the truth.
Afraid of the lie.
Afraid of rejection.
Afraid he would die without ever knowing if his dream had the slightest chance of coming true.
It was about time he faced his fears. And, if so, accepting the painful truth.

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Victoria was busy serving customers. The tavern was just about crowded, and everyone seemed to be having a good time and enjoying their meal. Almost everyone, that was.
She gazed worriedly at don Diego.
As usual, he and Felipe had come strolling into the tavern around noon. He had ordered lunch after he had taken a seat at his usual table and seemed deep in thought. So far, nothing new or abnormal.
Yet Victoria sensed something was different from usual. Or rather, it had been like this for a few days. Ever since the day the alcalde had proudly announced the death of Joaquin Correna, Diego seemed even more introverted and absent than normal.

Victoria wiped her hands on a cloth. She took two glasses of lemonade and walked to the table.
"Here you go, two lemonades and the rest will be right up."

Felipe gave his usual nod and made the hand gesture he used to say thank you.

Diego was startled out of his thoughts and muttered a little dazedly,
"Gracias, Victoria."

He gave her a polite smile, yet it only proved to Victoria something had changed in his attitude. It felt like he was hiding behind an invisible mask.
Hesitantly, Victoria remained standing at the table. She wished she knew a way to help her friend. She just had no idea how or what to say.
So Victoria sighed and walked towards the kitchen, feeling dejected. It just didn't feel right to leave Diego alone with whatever was bothering him so much.

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The bustle of lunch was over, and it was nearing closing time. Victoria was cleaning up. Her helpers had gone home, and the last guests had paid their bills and left the tavern.
She had just taken a new load of dirty dishes to the kitchen and returned to the dining room. At the counter, don Diego was waiting to pay. Felipe had seemingly left the tavern, probably to get the horses or something like that.
"Let me think," Victoria uttered. "Two lemonades and two specials of the day. That will be seven pesos." Victoria quickly calculated.

Diego placed ten pesos on the counter.
"You can keep the change."

"Thanks, don Diego." Victoria grabbed the money to put in the cash box. She bit her bottom lip and dawdled, unsure what to say or ask but unwilling to just let him leave.

"Victoria," Diego glared around nervously. "It's such a lovely day. I was wondering, do you perhaps have time and fancy going for a ride?"

Her head was screaming better not, trying to think of an excuse. Her mind remained blank, and she heard herself stammer. "That's a nice idea."

Visibly relieved, Diego uttered. "Shall I go to the stable to saddle your horse? Then you can take your time closing up, and I'll see you there in a minute."

Victoria nodded and silently cursed herself. Being alone with Diego was always treacherous. She would start imagining things that made no sense. However, she had said yes, and backing out now would only seem weird. Besides, her friend needed her, or he wouldn't have asked her to go for a ride.

Diego had left the tavern by the back door. Victoria quickly scribbled a note for her helpers explaining where she was and, should she not be back in time, asking them to open the tavern. Then Victoria went upstairs to get a scarf to protect her shoulders from the bright sunlight.
As she reached for her scarf, Victoria saw herself in the mirror and suddenly thought of something. Maybe Diego was asking her along because he wanted to confide in her about his secret. It was clear that something had been bothering the don for a while.
Had it something to do with Zafira? With her husband now dead, making her a widow, did Diego regret not asking his former fiancée to stay with him?
Despite Zafira telling her she loved her husband, she also let no misunderstandings thinking highly of don Diego.
She should have told him no. She didn't want to discuss whatever was troubling him. And certainly not when his worries were considered a woman.

In the stable, Diego was waiting. Victoria greeted her mare with a pat on her neck and a piece of apple, which she had quickly grabbed from the kitchen.

Victoria asked Diego. "Where do you want to go? I always like to ride to the ocean on days like this. There is usually a cooling breeze."

Diego smiled. "I actually asked you along because I want to show you something. Maybe afterwards there will be time to go to the ocean. And otherwise, we can go there some other time."

Victoria nodded and let Diego help her into the saddle.

He closed the stable doors behind them and mounted Esperanza himself.

"Where do you want to go?" Victoria was curious about what Diego wanted to show her.

"That's hard to explain. It's not that far from here. First, we have to ride a bit south."

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Each occupied in his own thoughts, Diego and Victoria set off. Since he already seemed to have a destination in mind, Victoria followed. In her mind, she was feverishly trying to decide how to react as he confined her.
Diego still did not know if he had made the right decision. There was one thing he did know for sure. He no longer wanted to live with the thought of dying with the regret that he never dared to tell her the truth. His father had been right about one thing. Victoria deserved to have a choice.
Zorro always rode to and from his cave via the creek. After crossing it, the water in the narrow stream meant he could easily ensure that any pursuers lost track.
As Diego, he always rode via the main road to the hacienda.
This time, he decided to take Zorro's route.

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After arriving at the open field next to the cave, Diego halted and jumped off his horse. Victoria let her mare come to a stop. Diego grabbed the animal's reins to assist Victoria, as befits a gallant caballero.
Her mare was a calm animal, and Victoria was skilled enough to slide smoothly out of the saddle herself. Diego tied both animals to a protruding branch.

Victoria turned on her axis to discover if she recognized anything familiar.
She said, "Where are we? I don't think I've been here before."

"We are close to the hacienda," Diego answered, distracted.

She gazed at Diego in surprise. Nothing she saw indicated that there was a house within miles. "Oh, I thought you wanted to show me something special?" All she saw were huge boulders, large bushes and a barren plain.

"Yes, Victoria. There is something I wish to tell you for a long time. And I think you deserve to know. Perhaps we better sit down." Diego pointed at a large flat bolder.

Victoria nodded and sat down at the spot Diego had suggested while thinking. See, that was what she had been afraid of. Diego asking her for advice on how to impress a woman. How was she to advise him in a matter she was curious about and wished to ignore at the same time?

Diego remained standing. He stared at her, and Victoria quivered, noticing his intense expression.

All of a sudden, Victoria knew the exact reason why Diego had brought her here. He intended to tell her that she was the secretive woman for whom he had feelings. How could she have been so clueless not to see it sooner? If she had suspected earlier, she would have made certain she would have refused to be alone with him. It was too risky. It was too late.
In desperation, she searched around for a way out. She didn't want to hear it. If Diego was to tell her she was the one he loved, how could she keep telling herself that he was not remotely interested in her? Victoria wanted to cover her ears with her hands. Though, her arms declined duty and remained slack along her body.

"I am..., Zorro." There, he said it. He felt no relief.

It took Victoria a few seconds to understand that Diego had not said the words she had anticipated hearing. He was saying something else.

The earth began to vanish beneath her feet. All the air got squeezed out of her lungs. Her ears began to buzz. The world around her began to spin.
The last thing Victoria was aware off was a pair of worried blue eyes and a familiar voice crying out. "Victoria."

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Fainting is the classic reaction of Victoria to the unmasking of her hero. I couldn't resist staying true to the series for this part.

To be continued…,

Reviews really are appreciated.